


Instructions on the Care of Your New Cat/Boyfriend

by October_sky



Category: Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: (mostly), Fluff, M/M, Oneshot, anonymous letters, chapter 17, cuddling for warmth, theres only a little crying in this one I swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-18
Updated: 2017-09-18
Packaged: 2018-12-31 07:19:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12127353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/October_sky/pseuds/October_sky
Summary: Emil somehow managed to drag both himself and Lalli off the ice floe and into a house where they can take shelter for the night.  However, when he wakes up, he finds something strange has come through the mail slot





	Instructions on the Care of Your New Cat/Boyfriend

Dragging his companion’s limp body through the snow, Emil tightened his grip on Lalli as he pushed his shoulder against the door of the run-down wooden house, finally managing to force it open.  It wasn’t exactly warm inside, but it was at least slightly safer than being out in the open, and it was certainly an improvement from having been in the water a few minutes ago.  Come to think of it, Emil couldn’t remember exactly how they had gotten back on land, just being on that piece of ice, alone, after Lalli had killed the giant and then climbing onto land and finding this house.

 

After making sure that the place was clear, Emil set Lalli down on a bed and started taking his sopping wet clothes off.  No big deal really, he thought.  This was, after all, the standard field-medicine technique for preventing hypothermia.  Both of them knew this.  Granted, Emil couldn’t help but think there would be something at least  _ slightly _ romantic about this situation if Lalli had actually been awake.  Emil gave himself a light smack in the head for that one.  He needed to focus on the mission.

 

Once he finished struggling with Lalli’s boots (he made a mental note to ask how he managed to deal with those once Lalli woke up), he laid all of their clothes next to the fire he had set so they could dry overnight.  He checked Lalli’s pulse and made sure that he was breathing.  He was alive, if barely.  It was strange to see Lalli so vulnerable like this.  Lalli, who had protected him for the whole mission, who had kept all of them out of harm’s way, who had just pushed himself beyond his limits --again-- to take down a giant singlehandedly.  Emil had never quite realized just how small his frame actually was under that coat.

 

“Everything’s gonna be alright.  We’re safe now.” he said reassuringly (although he was talking to himself just as much as his unconscious companion. He grabbed Lalli for a quick hug before collapsing into the bed himself and pulling the covers over both of them.

 

Emil stirred only once that night.  He could swear that he heard something moving in the front room, followed by what almost sounded like a bird chirping.  But that was unlikely, there weren’t really many birds around here, and none of them were nocturnal.  He sat up for a minute before brushing it off as a combination of the weather and his worried mind playing tricks on him and returning to sleep.

 

When Emil woke up in the morning, the first thing he noticed was a sharp pain in his stomach.  It was then that he realized that he had been just running on adrenaline since yesterday and had forgotten to eat.  A brief look at Lalli showed that he had noticeably improved and was probably just sleeping normally now.  Dragging himself out of bed and stumbling into the living room, he didn’t even notice the envelope on the ground surrounded by white feathers at first.  It wasn’t until after he had reignited the fire and managed to get some food into his stomach that the lightbulb turned on in his head and he nearly knocked something over running to the door.  The feathers didn’t look like anything he had ever seen, although he didn’t really pay much attention to birds.  He turned the envelope over to see that the front simply read “Congratulations” in Swedish with no indication where it had come from.  He sat down in the chair again with a hot mug of coffee and opened it.  There was something about the flowery handwriting and the tone that seemed very familiar to him, but he couldn’t place where he knew it from.

 

"Dear Emil  and Lalli ,   
You’re so cute together! I’ve known Lalli wasn’t straight for a long time, but it’s surprising to see you and him getting together. I always figured he would be attracted to  less annoying quieter people. Guess I was the one who dropped the ball on that on. I knew you were crushing on him, of course, but I thought he only hung out with you because you kept the others distracted. Pretty clear that the feeling is mutual, at this point.   
I mean, it stinks that you and Lalli nearly drowned in that lake, but it’s pretty clear he’s in good hands, at least. Still, I was barely able to keep track of him at the best of times--You’ll definitely need my help to land this catch. Here’s what I can remember…"

 

The letter went on to explain how to tell whether Lalli was interested in physical contact, when to shut up, and also how to make those cookies that he liked, and other general reminders like making sure that he eats properly.  What the letter did not explain, however, was who had written it.

 

Emil’s face turned a bright red as he scanned the page.  Who the hell did this person think they were?  And how did they know all of that?  Even if someone else was out here they would never have been able to follow them without Emil noticing.  Thinking back on recent events though, Emil had to admit they were right.  He certainly had a crush on Lalli, he had stopped denying that a while ago.  But then the way that Lalli had tried to run away from him like he hadn’t wanted Emil to see him so upset?  And how he had jumped in front of the giant and put so much strain on himself to protect Emil?  Maybe there was something more there than just Emil’s wishful thinking.

 

Unfortunately, he didn’t have much time to think because right has he set the letter down on the table, he heard the floorboards creak as Lalli came staggering out of the bedroom wrapped in a blanket.  His scout instincts had already clearly kicked in, as his eyes swept over the unfamiliar environment and immediately snapped to the white feathers still lying near the door

 

“Oh good morning Lal-” was all Emil managed to say before Lalli grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him over to the feathers, which he began jabbing his finger at repeatedly while staring at Emil with eyes wider than he had ever seen.  Emil opened his mouth to speak but remembered that Lalli wouldn’t be able to understand a word.  So instead he grabbed the letter and held it up before placing it amongst the feathers.  Some slightly more complicated charades was required to get across that he had found it when he woke up, but the point got across eventually.

 

Curious, Lalli snatched the letter out of Emil’s hand and only had to look at the writing for a second before he grabbed Emil in a tight hug and started crying, although Emil could tell that he was smiling.  He whispered one word:

 

“Tuuri...”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey look, I finally wrote a proper EmiLalli fic where both of them are actually onscreen, like I've been saying I would for ages! Thanks to Ilral for writing the actual letter portion of the story, (which also prompted me to come up with a far better reaction from Emil than the direction I had originally gone with.) and for giving me some very helpful editing.


End file.
